A ham is, as a rule, the back of a pig, calf, or ram carcass. There is also a scapular ham. This is part of the neck, shoulder blade and forearm of the animal. Pork hams are especially popular with housewives. Dishes made from them are tasty, appetizing in appearance, and the cooking process itself is quite accessible at home.
It is necessary
-
- Ham
- spices and herbs
- fat
- carrot
Instructions
Step 1
There are many variations of this dish. Someone bakes a ham in foil, someone cuts off fat, but someone does not. To add additional flavor to the ham, marinate and create a beautiful glazed crust, various spices and spices are used - honey and brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves, ginger and allspice. The recipe below will allow even inexperienced housewives to get juicy meat with a thin crispy crust.
Step 2
The ham should be pickled two days before cooking. The simplest classic way is suitable - rub the ham with salt and black pepper, cover the entire surface with rings of fresh onions, wrap in cling film or foil and put in the refrigerator.
Step 3
Around this time, you should put a piece of bacon in the freezer.
Step 4
Before cooking the ham, you need to wash, peel and cut a few medium carrots into even long cubes. Lard is taken out of the freezer and cut in the same way as carrots. Some housewives also stuff the hams with garlic, but not everyone likes the fact that the meat around it, when baked, can turn a little green, as well as acquire a light "metallic" aftertaste.
Step 5
Longitudinal cuts are made in the meat with a narrow and long knife, and carrots and bacon are put in these "pockets". It is convenient to use a special needle for filling, but not everyone has it. It is necessary to stuff the ham quickly, since the fat is rapidly defrosting, which means it becomes softer and it will be almost impossible to put it in the "pockets".
Step 6
The oven is preheated to 180 degrees Celsius. Put the ham on a pre-oiled baking sheet, cover with cling foil and bake. The time required for baking is determined at the rate of one hour for each kilogram of meat. If you have a meat thermometer, wait until it reads 140 degrees Fahrenheit or 60 Celsius.
Step 7
Fifteen to twenty minutes before final readiness, you need to remove the foil from the meat and grease it. This is done to obtain a beautiful glossy crust. Basically, there are hundreds of options for coating. Any sour jam - plum, blackcurrant, cranberry - and mustard, the same sour apple juice and honey, honey and cinnamon, apricot jam and dried ginger will do. Choose according to your taste, experiment and find your "signature" combination of spices.
Step 8
Once the ham is ready, remove it from the oven and cover with foil again. Do not rush to cut it! This will ensure that all the juice flows out of it at once and the meat becomes dry. Wait 20 minutes and then proceed. Such a ham is good both as a main course and as a cold appetizer.
